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Shen Shiying couldn't help feeling superior.

After losing his post in Dawan Village, he and his family had returned to Tiannan City, and he'd thought their prospects were bleak.

Fortunately, Steward Lai Er was a man of his word and still remembered their old ties.

Since someone had taken over the ten-year post he'd been promised before his term was up,

Steward Lai Er had compensated him with some Spirit Stones and landed him a lucrative job accompanying the Transport Commissioner on grain-collection rounds.

The Shen Clan was a vast household, and the number of Spirit Fields it directly managed outside the city was beyond imagining.

As the Transport Commissioner's subordinates, their main task was to help him collect the harvests from Spirit Fields belonging to the Shen Clan.

The Transport Commissioner himself focused on the major cities and places where large numbers of Spirit Fields were clustered, overseeing the collections there.

But for the scattered, remote Spirit Fields in places like Dawan Village, it was up to underlings like them to step in.

Shen Shiying was now one of the Transport Commissioner's errand runners.

The Transport Commissioner he served was currently in Qing City.

Since Shen Shiying had once been stationed in Dawan Village and knew the surrounding area well, he had been assigned to cover this region.

And along the way,

at every village or estate belonging to the Shen Clan, he could skim a little here and there.

Such kickbacks might not amount to much for important figures like the Transport Commissioner,

but for low-ranking collateral relatives like them, a little added up to a fortune!

So far,

Shen Shiying had visited only five villages and estates under the Shen Clan.

Yet the kickbacks he'd accumulated already matched what he used to earn in a year as Dawan Village's overseer!

Compared with that,

and with the sorry state of the boy who had "snatched" their livelihood,

how could Shen Shiying not feel pleased with himself?

He'd even begun to feel as though he were floating on air.

Shen Changchuan naturally had no way of knowing what was going through Shen Shiying's mind.

But he'd keenly sensed the faint pride radiating from the man—or perhaps it was a sense of superiority.

That might have been because his divine sense was as strong as someone in the late Qi Induction Realm, making his perceptions unusually sharp.

Could this guy be thinking I'm bound to suffer a heavy loss this time?

Shen Changchuan's thoughts stirred.

He'd only been making an offhand complaint and playing up his losses so no one would keep an eye on him.

After all, his gains this time had been considerable.

And if he spread his improved Spirit Grain cultivation methods to all the Spirit Fields during next spring's planting,

then, with the sediment formed from the Water Vein Essence and Earth Vein Essence dredged up from the bottom of Dawan River added as fertilizer,

Shen Changchuan estimated that next year's yield would rise by at least fifty catties per mu!

That meant the Spirit Fields would produce no less than 1,800 catties in the first quarter of next year.

After setting aside the required 1,000 catties of Spirit Grain for the Shen Clan, he'd have 800 catties left, worth about eighty Spirit Stones.

That would mean more than 160 Spirit Stones a year!

Although he'd promised to give a small share of those 160-plus Spirit Stones to the village's two thousand residents,

other cultivators would likely ignore any such reward agreement and focus solely on that 160-odd Spirit Stone income.

And if the neighboring villages joined them, the income would likely exceed 200 Spirit Stones!

That kind of income—

even a cultivator in the late Qi Induction Realm would be tempted!

Shen Changchuan was certain of it.

If word of this got out, it would stir up trouble out of nowhere.

He might even lose his post as Dawan Village's overseer and be driven back to the Shen Family Estate!

That was something Shen Changchuan couldn't accept.

That was why, even before Shen Shiying arrived, Shen Changchuan had ordered Han Qinhu to threaten the villagers with the loss of their future share of the rewards and make them keep quiet.

He'd even told them to avoid going out and never discuss anything related to the Spirit Field harvests.

He'd also prepared to play up his losses.

Looks like it worked?

Shen Changchuan's gaze flickered.

Things seemed to be going more smoothly than he'd expected.

Never mind. It's a good thing. I won't have to steer the conversation myself and risk looking deliberate or arousing suspicion.

Besides,

though he called Shen Shiying his paternal uncle, they'd met only twice. What bond could they possibly have?

Some of what he'd said earlier had been sincere,

but they weren't close.

Normally, who would pour out such a litany of woes to an outsider they barely knew?

Shen Changchuan had, of course, had his own reasons.

He'd simply wanted to make himself seem weak,

so he could quietly amass his fortune.

But Shen Changchuan also knew that too much of anything could backfire.

"Ah, never mind. Let's not talk about it."

Shen Changchuan wore an expression mingling sorrow and regret as he waved a hand.

He looked as though he couldn't bear to bring up the painful matter again.

Then he changed the subject.

"Uncle, you've come from Tiannan City. Has anything important happened in the Shen Clan recently?"

"Important? I wouldn't know about anything truly important."

Shen Shiying took a sip of tea, looking quite at ease.

Clearly, he was delighted to hear that Shen Changchuan had suffered heavy losses.

In light of that,

he didn't mind sharing a bit of news.

"But not long ago, a bit of gossip made quite a stir in Tiannan City. You might find it interesting, nephew."

"Oh? What was the gossip?"

"Have you heard of Shen Han, nephew?"

Shen Shiying smiled mysteriously.

"Shen Han? I think he's one of my half-brothers?"

Shen Changchuan thought for a moment before answering.

The name seemed familiar,

but it hadn't made much of an impression. Still, Shen Changchuan managed to dredge it up from the depths of his memories.

Shen Han

was the younger brother of that unlucky fellow who'd supposedly died by suicide after stabbing himself seven times in the back!

Shen Changchuan seemed to recall that before he left the Shen Family Estate, Shen Han's mother had gone mad after his brother's death and been sent to a temple outside the city. Then First Madam had ordered Shen Han to go with her and care for her.

"Exactly!"

"That's the Shen Han!"

Shen Shiying seemed to know who Shen Changchuan meant and gave an affirmative nod.

"They say that not long ago, Shen Han's mother, who'd gone mad, died suddenly at the temple."

"After that, Shen Han's strength rose dramatically for some unknown reason."

"He broke the limbs of all the people First Madam had sent to the temple, then left word that he was severing ties with the Shen Clan for good. He said, 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. I'll remember today's grudge. When I've grown strong, I'll return to the Shen Clan and seek justice for my mother and brother!'"

"Word has it that the affair caused quite a stir in Tiannan City. Second Madam even seized the opportunity to make trouble and gave First Madam a hard time. First Madam was so furious she hasn't eaten in days, smashed her favorite things, and had more than a dozen servants beaten to death."

"I've also heard that First Madam has secretly put out a bounty: a thousand Spirit Stones to anyone who can take Shen Han's life!"